Technical Note

My analyses are based on composite charts that combine data for the New and Full Moons of each month.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Astrology of August 2012 - for Everyone

The Astrology of August 2012

Course Correction

As
many already know, between January 2008 and February 2011 the three,
powerful outer planets all made very important ingresses. They have now
settled into their new signs. The disruptions connected with these
ingresses have ended, but our lives will be in a state of continual
transformation for the foreseeable future.The
new planetary arrangement supports complex, rapid, systematic change.
For the foreseeable future, it will keep things unstable enough to
motivate change and fluid enough to permit change. It will not keep
things unstable or fluid enough to cause outright disaster. It will
produce changes so pervasive and on such a scale that all of our lives
will inevitably be significantly affected.All
change is stressful. Continuous change of this magnitude will be
especially stressful. The cumulative effects of these stresses will test
everyone’s stress-management and life-management skills. We must be
mindful that those with low levels of such skills, or none at all, could
crack under the continuing strain.Some
of us have the luxury of gaging the relative difficulty of each passing
month, noting which area of our lives the planets are focusing on. For
many, though, it is just one darned thing after another. An a continuing
accumulation of stresses and challenges, one blending indistinguishably
with the next.

Sweet and Sour

The
charts for June and July were both dominated by bad news (June’s more
than July’s), August’s chart contains good news and bad news. The
supportive aspects are sufficient to counter the worst effects of the
bad aspects and enough to give many of us a leg up and a way to avoid
the worst outcomes. Combined,
the difficult aspects motivate us to make changes and the positive
aspects help us re-position ourselves. It presents us with an unusual,
paradoxical combination of frustration and opportunity.

First the Bad News

As I run through the challenges in the chart, please keep in mind that this is only the “bad news” portion of the analysis.

Pressure Cooker

There
are two Full Moons in August, 29 days apart: August 2nd and August 31.
That will increase psychological pressure significantly.August’s
chart is dominated by what I call a Double “Hard Yod,” forming a
species of hard six-pointed star. (A single Hard Yod us made up of a
square and two sesquiquadrates.)It
is a blocking structure comparable to those in the charts for June and
July. It will produce interpersonal friction and seemingly irresolvable
dilemmas.

Whistling Past the Graveyard

Technically
speaking, this chart, at its most basic, contains a number of broad but
potentially very difficult, disruptive oppositional relationships. The
destructive and disruptive energies of these oppositional relationships
is harnessed by a single difficult but much less dangerous structure,
the Double Hard Yod, which is itself embedded in a matrix of supportive
aspects.The
Double Hard Yod and the supportive aspects in which it is embedded,
bring the difficult energies of these oppositions into tense but
productive relationship. Amidst the head-butting and grudging
compromise, and the building of brittle consensus, we should remain
mindful that disaster is being averted.

The Makings of a Perfect Storm

The
Double Hard Yod, which embraces almost every point in the chart,
continues many themes familiar from June and July and earlier. It has a
strong subjective, psychological and spiritual emphasis. It also
foretells the onset of significant economic changes on the day-to-day,
grassroots level.Taken
by itself, the six-pointed, Double Hard Yod depicts a perfect storm of
existential fears, psychological and spiritual turmoil, economic
challenges, turf warfare, political conflict and generic power
struggles. The
blocking structure prevents an outright blow up, but, taken by itself,
it makes resolution of conflict or the achievement of clarity and
certainty virtually impossible. The
following is a list of the influences caught up in the Double Hard Yod,
the difficult and dangerous ingredients, the bad news in August’s good
news/bad news chart.• Neptune is on the Ascendant, close by Chiron.
Personal identity becomes even more fluid and indistinct. Our
involvement in the world around us grows more tenuous and tentative.
Events make us increasingly aware of our frailty and vulnerability. Many
of us will withdraw, or continue to withdraw, psychologically. • Pluto and the Moon are in the 10th house. Authority figures become obsessed with maintaining control.• Mars is closely conjunct Saturn in the 8th house, with less than one degree of separation. This
causes sharp disagreement over financial issues: taxes, social
programs, pensions, insurance, etc. It also points to explosive levels
of frustration over continuing lack of progress in important financial
areas. Taken by itself, this is a potentially violent, distinctly
revolutionary vibe.• The Sun is in Leo in the 6th house, near the Descendant. The ego is heavily dependent on the opinions of others. Leadership and independent action will be suppressed.• A South Node stellium (including Lilith, Jupiter, Vesta, Ceres and the South Node) clusters near the cusp of the 4th house. This will cause confusion on the level of core psychological and spiritual issues. People
will continue to experience high levels of inner turmoil. Psychological
and spiritual transformations will deepen and intensify. In some cases,
this could lead to desperate, irrational acts. Confusion about
nurturance issues, about providing the essentials of life for ourselves,
our families and our neighbors, will continue.

Revolution on Main Street

• Uranus and Pallas are in Aries in the 2nd house.
Radical, revolutionary new patterns of economic thought and behavior
are emerging on Main Street and at the grass roots level. This dynamic
adds concrete, material ingredients to what is an otherwise highly
subjective mix. For
example, Amazon.com is planning same day deliveries in the US. New
policies on US credit card transactions are going into effect. In
California, local governments plan to seize troubled mortgages from
investors using the power of eminent domain in order to lower payments
for home owners.But
we should probably also expect to see revolutionary, reform-oriented
actions of various kinds in the retail realm. I have in mind recent
demonstrations against Chick-Fil-A for the anti-gay policies of its
owner. Main Street could once again become the favored venue for
political action.Each
of the influences just discussed is challenging in its own right. Each
is embedded in a single, integrated blocking structure, moderating the
influences and bringing them into tense, but productive relationship. This integrated, blocking structure, is further embedded in a matrix of helpful, supportive aspects.

The Good News

The
charts for June and July were dominated almost exclusively by hard,
challenging aspects (June’s more than July’s). August’s chart, by
contrast includes a fairly strong mix of protective, facilitating
aspects and at least one major source of positive synchronicity.The
supportive aspects are not strong enough to overwhelm the difficult
ones. But they do further moderate the destructive potential of the
individual elements.June
and July required us to “bite the bullet.” In August, opportunity will
tend to dovetail with need, smoothly enough, at least, to get us passed
the rapids. Windows will open when doors close.• At 0 d. 44 m. Pisces, the Part of Fortune is exactly conjunct the Ascendant. This is a powerful source of positive synchronicity. • Neptune is powerfully placed in Pisces, its home sign, very close to the Ascendant and the Part of Fortune. When associated with such a positive influence, Neptune is a source of mysterious good fortune.Since
both Neptune and the Part of Fortune are so close to the Ascendant,
August’s chart is suffused with a subtle and persistent kind of positive
synchronicity. Things will tend to work out in mysterious ways, for
mysterious reasons.

Better Than It Looks

The
Double Hard Yod involved almost all of the points in August’s chart.
Similarly, almost all the points in August’s chart are tied into this
sturdy, resilient matrix of supportive aspects, of trines and sextiles.
This would include all the points involved in the Double Hard Yod,
discussed above.This
means that all of the difficult and uncomfortable situations likely to
be created by the Double Hard Yod will come with ready-made workarounds.
Not solutions, but workarounds, stopgaps, detours, temporary fixes. August
will not bring the grand resolution we all hope is somewhere in our
future. Rather, it will bring a mosaic, or, perhaps, a crazy-quilt, of
new, workable arrangements, or accommodations - temporary ones.
Something will allow us to muddle through, keep going, at least for now,
probably longer. There
is a certain headlong, willy-nilly, improvisational quality to August’s
chart. Choices are difficult, yet people must act, if only tentatively
and commit, if only temporarily. People will have to move fast and
without much in the way of advance notice. As in previous months, it
will be very difficult to know exactly what is going on at any given
moment.

The North Node - In The Eye of a Perfect Storm

The
North Node is still in Sagittarius. This month it is in the 9th house.
It urges far-seeing, answers to current challenges, answers based on
wisdom, experience and scientific study.The
North Node is not tied directly into the Double Hard Yod or the matrix
of supportive aspects. It is, by contrast, involved in two angular,
oppositional relationships with deeply, deeply confusing influences: The
North Node forms a broad Grand Cross with Neptune on the Ascendant
opposing the Sun and Mercury on the Descendant and the South Node
Stellium on the IC, at the bottom of the chart. This stellium includes,
Lilith, Jupiter, Vesta and Ceres. The overall formation is not very
exact, but it is exact enough to affect us. These
adverse relationships set along the power and relationship axes,
indicating intense interpersonal and political cross-currents. The
planets involved indicate the need to make high stakes moral and
material decisions amidst considerable outer confusion and inner
turmoil.In
essence, this chart poses a question for all of us. Given a highly
fluid, challenging situation, one laced with adequate but temporary
solutions, which way will we jump. Will
we move in the direction of the wise, far-seeing, Sagittarius North
Node solution? Or will we slip back into the familiar, comfortable
errors of the past and repeat history?The
chart also seems to be promising to give us the results we deserve,
based on our choices, so we know quickly whether we are making the right
choices or not . . . if we have the eyes to see. In
sum, August’s chart shows us a world enjoying a tenuous respite from
its considerable difficulties, staring at the possibility of chaos,
searching for order and direction.[To
understand how this month’s North Node affects your natal North Node,
think of it as a transiting influence. Gauge its likely effects by the
way it aspects your natal Nodes.]

Thank You So much for these monthly reports. You make it so easy to understand and I really appreciate it! I have a question. When does the North Node go into Scorpio? I heard it was the end of August but no one is talking about it. My natal North Node is in Scorpio so this may mean something to me. Thanks for any response and huge hugs from Mt. Shasta! :)

@WishUFree Yes, the NN moves into Scorpio at the end of August. The Moon's Nodes determine the location of Eclipses. So you should check out what that means for your chart. I can't provide an interpretation off hand, but you should be able to find some info on that.

I'm a Taurus and my north node is Gemini, my south node is Sagittarius...so to find out the directions I should go this month do I look at where Sagittarius or Gemini falls on my chart? kinda new to this sorry.

@seth You are experiencing what a reader recently informed me is called a "counternodal return." Transiting SN is on your natal NN and vice versa.

In essence, everything you shouldn't be doing in life is jumbled up with everything you should be doing at a given moment, and you have to sort it out, if you can. It's a kind of final exam, really. It's complicated.

But, back to the question. At any given time, you need to support the transiting NN. If transiting NN is in harmonious relationship with your natal NN, then it will be easy for you to do so. If the relationship is difficult, then it will be difficult for you to support the transiting NN. But you need to do it despite the difficulty, somehow.

thanks for getting back Carl! yaay!!this counternodal return doesn't occur that often I take... btw Im also in my Saturn return, both my saturn and my accendant are in scorpio, so I'm getting a double wammy?? okay so just to make sure I understand, I should support my natal SN qualities while sagitarius is in the transiting NN?

Wow, this is truly insightful and powerful transformative analysis that can give us practical help to guide us through our daily lives! Thank you carl.I will be closely following your posts in the future!Anita

I've recently been told that Saturn has transitioned in to sun sign libra as well as Mercury. Would this exacerbate a lot of issues for Libra, and possibly cause a lot of disharmony with others? Possibly clouding it so much where one wouldn't see where they are responsible forum their suffering?

@anonymous Saturn has been in Libra for a couple of years and will be leaving in early October - a fact for which many Librans will be very thankful.

Generally, Saturn will compel a person to learn responsibility. I would say that, if a Libra is neglecting or disrespecting a relationship at this point in a Saturn transit, it is because they have learned that the relationship wasn't helping them and might have been holding them back. That's the way Saturn works.

Saturn will have forced them to give that relationship low priority, if not to give it up altogether.

But Saturn is only one of the very challenging, long-term influences affecting Libra right now. It's too much to go into in a comment section. If you are looking for an astrological reason for problems in a Libran life, there are several big ones to choose from.

@anonymous Transiting NN will shortly enter Scorpio. So the transiting nodes will form a square relationship with your natal nodes. With the natal aspects to your natal nodes, the nodal situation in your chart is looking complicated.

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Personal Readings No Longer Offered

I now there are probably a few people - not many, but a few, a handful - who are waiting for a reading. However, I have had to simply, completely and abruptly stop offering astrology readings.

I apologize. However, conditions in my life require that I lighten my workload considerably and immediately. I will continue to post my monthly astrology reports on Facebook with links posted on my Google+ account.